Beware of honey through New-Zealand!

[cachouonacruise]

On a recent trip, we flew to Sydney Australia. During one of our excursions, we found, what we thought would be something nice to bring home: creamy honey made by a unique kind of bees in Australia. We bought two jars! 

 

We then boarded the Edge in Sydney, no questions asked!

 

However, during our cruise around New-Zealand, we saw multiple adds warning us about consequences for bringing agricultural substances considered a bio-hazard by New-Zealand. 

 

So, we begun to be quite concerned! Especially since sniffing dogs are used to smell luggage in both Australia and New-Zealand. The penalty for contravening to these rules is a $400 fine and the cancellation of the visa.

 

We elected not to risk the penalty and to declare the honey, on the electronic form filled while aboard the ship.

 

So, after the cruise, upon disembarking from the Edge, customs, immigrations and dogs were waiting to greet disembarking passengers.

 

The officers of course, asked us about the honey. We mentioned that the honey was in two jars, unopened and sealed and that we were just hoping to carry them from the port to the airport leaving New-Zealand, the same day.

 

The officers thanked us for our honesty....and then confiscated the honey. We were not subjected to the fine though.

 

So, just posting this experience, in case it could help fellow cruiser not to become....honey criminals like us! ( just joking by exaggeration a bit, but this added stress and an unnecessary expense to our trip)

 

For your consideration! 
 

[Pushka]

If you declare you won't be fined but goods will likely be confiscated. New Zealand has the strictest rules. 

[hcat]

is there an actual hazard with the product..or it just violates the rules?

Maybe you can get it online,

[StopTheWorld]

From the NZ government website;

Honey is a high biosecurity risk for New Zealand. It can bring in harmful pests and diseases that can affect our bee populations. If in doubt, do not bring honey.

[d9704011]

1 minute ago, StopTheWorld said:

From the NZ government website;

Honey is a high biosecurity risk for New Zealand. It can bring in harmful pests and diseases that can affect our bee populations. If in doubt, do not bring honey.

That,s it....

52489-GD3-A2-poster-Honey.pdf

[StopTheWorld]

1 minute ago, StopTheWorld said:

From the NZ government website;

Honey is a high biosecurity risk for New Zealand. It can bring in harmful pests and diseases that can affect our bee populations. If in doubt, do not bring honey.

Also worth noting if you like to take your own sauce on board or buy some to take home and transit through New Zealand:

[JJK2008]

7 hours ago, cachouonacruise said:

On a recent trip, we flew to Sydney Australia. During one of our excursions, we found, what we thought would be something nice to bring home: creamy honey made by a unique kind of bees in Australia. We bought two jars! 

 

We then boarded the Edge in Sydney, no questions asked!

 

However, during our cruise around New-Zealand, we saw multiple adds warning us about consequences for bringing agricultural substances considered a bio-hazard by New-Zealand. 

 

So, we begun to be quite concerned! Especially since sniffing dogs are used to smell luggage in both Australia and New-Zealand. The penalty for contravening to these rules is a $400 fine and the cancellation of the visa.

 

We elected not to risk the penalty and to declare the honey, on the electronic form filled while aboard the ship.

 

So, after the cruise, upon disembarking from the Edge, customs, immigrations and dogs were waiting to greet disembarking passengers.

 

The officers of course, asked us about the honey. We mentioned that the honey was in two jars, unopened and sealed and that we were just hoping to carry them from the port to the airport leaving New-Zealand, the same day.

 

The officers thanked us for our honesty....and then confiscated the honey. We were not subjected to the fine though.

 

So, just posting this experience, in case it could help fellow cruiser not to become....honey criminals like us! ( just joking by exaggeration a bit, but this added stress and an unnecessary expense to our trip)

 

For your consideration! 
 

Might just depend on who you get. We had virtually the same experience, but they let through WITH the honey. Weeks later we brought it back to the USA. No problem. Guess we were lucky. 

[d9704011]

1 hour ago, JJK2008 said:

Might just depend on who you get. We had virtually the same experience, but they let through WITH the honey. Weeks later we brought it back to the USA. No problem. Guess we were lucky. 

Kinda like the time I brought a couple of oranges into the United States.

[mtempelaar]

Thanks for the post/warning on that.  

 

People should always be aware of restrictions for any country they are bringing things into, and always be honest with customs officials.

 

There are a lot of grey areas in the wording for different countries and any food/agriculture is a dicey proposition.  

 

My husband and I bring food back and forth from the Netherlands without issues but the tulips - customs officials are deliberately checking certificates on the tulip bulb bags to make sure they are certified for the US and unexpired. Given the number of expired certs on tulip bags at the Amsterdam Bloemenmkt, I'm sure a lot of people have had their tulips confiscated upon return to the US.  We have them shipped to us instead from a wholesaler.  

[Pushka]

9 hours ago, hcat said:

is there an actual hazard with the product..or it just violates the rules?

Maybe you can get it online,

NZ is extremely protective of their natural population and protects it rigorously. Good on them. 

[mahasamatman]

6 hours ago, mtempelaar said:

People should always be aware of restrictions for any country they are bringing things into, and always be honest with customs officials.

 

And this includes things you wouldn't expect. For example, you cannot bring your personal CPAP machine into Japan without authorization. The auth is easy to get, but it's somehting very few people would even think about. I never even knew about it until someone posted in our Roll Call.

[Pantheral]

Our cruise in Australia and New Zealand was in 2019 so things may have changed since, but as I recall, the reason for concern in NZ regarding the honey was not infecting their bees with the virus that was impacting bees around the world.

We waited to purchase our honey in NZ ports from NZ sources and had no issues with customs upon disembarkation at the time... 

[PTC DAWG]

I wonder if it could be shipped home from New Zealand directly to your home…find a Fed Ex or UPS store..

[Pantheral]

What I did find interesting was that the NZ authorities were only concerned upon disembarkation while we had spent the week prior arriving from Australia via the cruise ship and having 4 ports of call in NZ where at any one of the ports we could have brought non-native honey ashore....

[cachouonacruise]

i have travelled a bit, and knew not to bring meats or fresh produce, plants, flowers to or from a foreign country.

 

I do understand and fully respect New-Zealand right and duty to protect its eco-system from any bio-hazard.

 

I should have checked more carefully! I agree!

 

To my defence, leaving Canada, I did not plan to make a purchase of honey until I was in the Australian gift shop. At that moment, I did not have access to the detailed list of Nez-Zealand regulations. My perception/assumption was that things in cans or sealed jars, did not pose a bio-hazard, therefore, I did not take a minute to second guess that purchase.

 

It would have been nice, if the touristic shops where I bought the honey, had posted a warning or even Celebrity, prior to board the ship. I may have had other options available. But, as a traveller, I understand that the final responsibility, lies with me.

 

Sadly, I ended up with an unauthorized product in my suitcase, and was not too sure what to do once I became aware of all the warnings on board the Edge.

 

Definitely a live and learn experience for me, and I am posting it, because I think it was an easy trap to fall in as a tourist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mtempelaar]

24 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I wonder if it could be shipped home from New Zealand directly to your home…find a Fed Ex or UPS store..

You could try, but any time you ship something, there's a chance you may not get it.

 

Back in the 90s my ex husband bought a very expensive watch in St Thomas, at which point I walked to the local post office and shipped the receipt and warranties home.  Watch remained on his wrist.  I then chickened out, declared it and paid the extra duties. Back then customs came on the ship before you disembarked.  

 

That same trip we hit New Orleans as the second to last stop.  I shipped cigars from there once we saw no customs getting off the ship.  We did receive them.

 

We've shipped things from all over.   Usually fine but not always.  

• Rotterdam - We ship food, spices, home goods, art, personal items.  No issue.  We get care packages as well from my sister in law.  The mice or rats in the customs warehouse apparently are on the prowl for food.  We have about a 50% success rate in getting food through customs.  Those critters will eat through a box if there is a sugary item inside.
• Venice - Sent art (expensive art - exceeded what we were allowed).  Customs has far more rules and processes than they let on.  Our artwork got stuck in customs with a demand for duties.  I tried to fight it but the hoops to go through weren't possible.  It wasn't appraised, it wasn't by a known artist, etc.  I lost the battle and paid.
• Kusadasi - Bought a rug in Turkey.  Took 3 months, but they brought it over, drove 2 hours to my house, brought it to my 4th floor and unrolled it this way and that until it looked perfect.  They dealt with customs  (I have to assume they built duty into my price).

We've also carried some questionable items with varying degrees of success:

Tahiti - Vanilla beans (fresh)

Paris/London/Netherlands - Cheeses (shrinkwrapped) - no issue.  I expect gouda to get through but there are some French cheeses that are banned in the US due to mites.  Processed meats - London and Italy was fine but some from The Netherlands was confiscated 🤨Maybe it was the type of meat?  Not sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I am not sure how I knew this, but I was aware of this last year when I did an Aus/NZ trip.    I recall scrolling through the Aus and NZ customs lists before my trip, so perhaps that way, but honestly, there were a LOT of restrictions.  

 

Our first cruise began in Sydney, ended in Nz.   Saw and sampled lots of great honey on the trip and in the week before the cruise in Tasmania, but avoided buying any.   I remember asking a couple times - if I by this can I take it with me to NZ and the merchants were always honest and told me no- but didn't advertise it.   I waited until I flew back to Australia, completed my 2nd cruise, then purchased honey at the Sydney airport to bring home to my co-workers.     

 

Australia also said you had to have all your medicine in labeled bottles.   I was traveling for 5 weeks and wanted to put them all in a pill dispenser to save space, but I brought them in the bottles.  No one even looked at my medicines when I landed in Sydney the first time, so I condensed them for the rest of the trip and it wasn't ever an issue on any of my subsequent flights/cruises.   

[Oceansaway17]

wow interesting, the list for NZ keeps on growing.   In fact, just in the last few years the list for quite a few ports is growing for who can sail in (Bar Harbor, Key West, Venice and soon some ports in Norway) and then southern ports on what type of sunscreen can be used.  That and weather patterns and in some places strikes and unrest, I am feeling cruising is going to hard to make decisions for places I want to go but now unsure.  oh well

[lynncarol]

 I had used my woven bag to transport breakfast rolls while in Australia.  When we flew into New Zealand, apparently the bag, although empty, still smelled of rolls.  Their dog went crazy and of course, my bag was thoroughly searched.  Even though I was completely innocent, it was embarrassing. 

[mahdnc]

On 2/20/2024 at 5:03 AM, Pushka said:

If you declare you won't be fined but goods will likely be confiscated. New Zealand has the strictest rules. 

 

they also have the cutest sniffing dogs!

 

[GatorMomInNC]

3 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

they also have the cutest sniffing dogs!

 

Okay, between the woman the uniform, the dogs, the "barred" doors and stone walls AND the people in black and white stripes...it took me a minute to figure out this was NOT a scene of someone being jailed for contraband. 😄

[sofietucker]

21 hours ago, mtempelaar said:

You could try, but any time you ship something, there's a chance you may not get it.

 

Back in the 90s my ex husband bought a very expensive watch in St Thomas, at which point I walked to the local post office and shipped the receipt and warranties home.  Watch remained on his wrist.  I then chickened out, declared it and paid the extra duties. Back then customs came on the ship before you disembarked.  

 

That same trip we hit New Orleans as the second to last stop.  I shipped cigars from there once we saw no customs getting off the ship.  We did receive them.

 

We've shipped things from all over.   Usually fine but not always.  

• Rotterdam - We ship food, spices, home goods, art, personal items.  No issue.  We get care packages as well from my sister in law.  The mice or rats in the customs warehouse apparently are on the prowl for food.  We have about a 50% success rate in getting food through customs.  Those critters will eat through a box if there is a sugary item inside.
• Venice - Sent art (expensive art - exceeded what we were allowed).  Customs has far more rules and processes than they let on.  Our artwork got stuck in customs with a demand for duties.  I tried to fight it but the hoops to go through weren't possible.  It wasn't appraised, it wasn't by a known artist, etc.  I lost the battle and paid.
• Kusadasi - Bought a rug in Turkey.  Took 3 months, but they brought it over, drove 2 hours to my house, brought it to my 4th floor and unrolled it this way and that until it looked perfect.  They dealt with customs  (I have to assume they built duty into my price).

We've also carried some questionable items with varying degrees of success:

Tahiti - Vanilla beans (fresh)

Paris/London/Netherlands - Cheeses (shrinkwrapped) - no issue.  I expect gouda to get through but there are some French cheeses that are banned in the US due to mites.  Processed meats - London and Italy was fine but some from The Netherlands was confiscated 🤨Maybe it was the type of meat?  Not sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've bought rugs from that Kusadasi store, Caravanserai (amazing deals if you play the game nicely); have both carried them onboard (smaller) and have them shipped. The rug guys also visited us from DC. No problems.  I've found wonderful saffron in both Istanbul--that got delayed and opened--and Greece (safe). We once brought jars of foie gras from Paris home in our suitcases (undeclared) that survived. Chocolates, sausages, and Dutch cheeses? Fine.  If I collect a few tiny seashells or bits of wood--or a pumice pebble from Pompeii, which they highly encourage!--I don't declare.

Our worst experience was with an antique Delft tray which I'd bought from our canal-house landlord in Amsterdam. Wrapped it in bubble wrap and clothes in my suitcase. Didn't declare. Bags delayed at JFK when we had to retrieve them, nearly missed our connection... When we got home, that tray had been smashed in such a way that only a hard, pointed blow could have done it. That is, not dropped. And no note that TSA had inspected the bag. GRRR!!! I did all the claim paperwork, took photos, submitted "comparable value" photos and identification of provenance, attached the airline's bag tag, etc. They did compensate me for the comparable value but I wasn't expecting it. Now we joke about evil JFK (have many stories in support)...

[jajsmom]

We just brought some Manuka Honey back from New Zealand.  Fortunately, we started and ended our cruise in Sydney.  We declared and had no problems. But New Zealand was VERY strict.  We were unsure if we could even take our refillable water bottles off the ship, because they were not factory sealed--we did take them off without incident.

[Arizona Wildcat]

Really simple.  When you are travelling read the rules for each country for what items are restricted or prohibited.

For example firewood cannot be imported into Canada.  An antique car with any wood in the body must be fumigated on arrival in Australia. 

[NMTraveller]

I recall purchasing the Manuka honey in New Zealand and taking it home through Australia.